


Miles to Go

by machinekeys



Category: Homestuck, MS Paint Adventures
Genre: F/F, Kiddie pools
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-06-12
Updated: 2012-06-12
Packaged: 2017-11-07 14:06:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/431992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/machinekeys/pseuds/machinekeys
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rose and Kanaya deal with nightmares, emotional distance, and pools full of slime.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Miles to Go

A kiddie pool filled with sopor slime was never intended to be a permanent solution to the lack of recuperacoons in the newly created Earthternia, but like all facets of interior design, the pool had built up inertia. After months of having the entire right side of their bedroom occupied by a five foot circle of rubber and ooze, Kanaya and Rose had come to a joint decision that it was fine the way it was, eldritch art of feng sui be damned.

Kanaya lay in the slime, desperately trying to ignore the figure writhing on the bed. This was the third time this week that Rose had been wracked by nightmares, a parting gift courtesy of Old Ones. With a sharp whimper, animal and terrified, Rose scrambled upright, all the poise and elegance she dripped during the day nowhere to be found. She curled up on top of the covers, her shoulders shaking in the way that could only mean tears. The tears she never showed Kanaya. After a while, endlessly long as Kanaya struggled to stay still and silent, Rose unfolded herself and stumbled over to Kanaya’s side of the room.

The years since the game had not been kind to her, bleaching her hair and skin sickly pale and darkening the circles under her eyes with the same ugly green-purple of a healing bruise. She knelt down, one-hand resting on the plastic of the pool, and trailed her fingers through the slime, tracing a nervous pattern over and over. There was nothing Kanaya could do but wait for her to make a decision. In the early days of their relationship, Kanaya had made a point to go to Rose whenever she screamed in the night, holding her gently despite how Rose went rigid and turned her head away, her voice cold and clipped as she informed Kanaya that she was getting sopor all over the good sheets. Kanaya had found out the hard way that Rose Lalonde was not to be coddled. The only comfort Rose would accept was comfort she’d asked for; no matter how much Kanaya’s long-dead bloodpusher ached watching her scream for hour after hour. It was easier now to just play at sleep until the cries stopped. They always did. Eventually.

Rose, however, had finally chosen, reaching out a thin hand and flicking Kanaya’s forehead. Caught off-guard, Kanaya let out an undignified yelp and sat bolt upright, splattering Rose and a distressingly large amount of the floor with slime. They would have to clean that up before it dried; otherwise it turned into a hard crust that was an absolute nightmare to scrub out of the carpet. She alternated between glaring at the mess and at Rose, who was making no effort whatsoever to hide the slight smirk that twisted her lips.

“Oh good, you’re up.”

“Rose,” Kanaya said as neutrally as she could, rubbing her forehead. “Can I help you with something or were you just checking my ability to wake from slumber? If it’s the latter, I can assure you that I am as capable as ever.”

“I would never question a master riser. Truly, your waking skills are unparalleled throughout every universe.” Rose’s eyes were fixed on some incredibly fascinating sight on the floor, her fingers endlessly fidgeting with the hem of her nightgown.

With some effort, Kanaya fought down the urge to blurt out the thousand comforting responses she thought up in her free time. Some of them were quite good, really. Those were the ones that she practiced in front of the mirror, so that whenever Rose finally opened a little, Kanaya would be ready. _Rose I Will Never Leave Your Side As Long As The Sun Hangs In The Sky Though Your Smile Quite Eclipses Its Radiance,_ she would then pull Rose close and run a gentle finger over her lips. A perfect mix of suave and ease, worthy of any romance heroine.

Instead, she muttered lamely, “Yes, well.”

Rose met her gaze for a brief second before dropping her eyes again. Shoulders tense, she let out a long, low sigh and gripped her nightgown a little tighter. In one jerky motion, Rose stripped off the garment and tossed it over her shoulder, leaving her shivering in nothing but her underwear. Kanaya couldn’t help but stare at the crumpled gown as it landed in a puddle of slime. That wasn’t going to wash out.

“Room for one more?” Rose asked, her voice forcedly light and conversational. They could have been talking about breakfast for all the emotion in her tone.

“Uh, you know I think you are very physically attractive and I enjoy your flushed attentions more than anything else in the world, but I don’t want to engage in any carnal shenanigans at the moment so please understand-”

“Hush, Kanaya. My intentions are utterly pure. May I sleep with you in the chaste sense?”

“I- You- Yes.” sputtered Kanaya. “Yes, of course.”

She scooted to the side as Rose climbed in, carelessly slopping even more ooze on their already abused floor. The slime instantly coated Rose, slicking her pale hair flat and dying her a faint green. Kanaya pressed herself harder against the far wall of the pool. She didn’t know where to put her hands or even where to look. This was such a delicate situation. One wrong move would send Rose back to her bed, hurt and alone. Though, if she was being honest, there wasn’t much about Rose that ever came easily.

Rose crawled over to her and laid her head on Kanaya’s chest, muscles finally relaxing. After another brief internal battle, Kanaya tentatively ran her fingers through Rose’s slime-slick hair, ready to back off at a moment’s notice. The sudden clenching of her jaw, the tightening of her mouth into a thin, hard line, never came. Instead, she was favored with a slight smile as Rose leaned up to brush their lips together.

“Thank you,” Rose whispered and lay her head back down, drifting off to sleep.


End file.
